St. Augustine, Florida
 

I am going to visit a friend in Port Charlotte, Fl. We are considering taking a trip to St. Augustine and/or Key West. We plan to go for 2 or 3 nights. I have no idea of the proximity of these places or what they are about. As usual, I am relying on Fodorites to supply the information-where to stay mid price and central), what to do and if we can combine both or should we just go to St. Augustine. I understand itis very interesting.

From Port Charlotte

to St. Augustine
about 4.5 hours on a good day

To Key West
About 6 hours on a good day

St. Augustine
Oldest city in US. Very historic. Beautiful beaches just across the bridge on Anastasia Island.

Key West
Basically a party town, some history, limited beaches.

You don't have time to do both, as you'd spend most of your time traveling between them. St. Augustine is very interesting, and we're spending the last half of our Christmas vacation there (third visit).

This time we're staying at the Holiday Inn Express, which is not central, but is the best bargain--it's out on the expressway, but not far from town. We've also stayed on St. Augustine Beach and in the City itself. St. Augustine is pretty small, so driving around is not difficult.

As to what to do--Spanish Fort to tour, an historic district, the "Fountain of Youth" (tacky but fun), the beach. If you go, be sure to eat at the Columbia Restaurant.

However, if you've never been to the Tampa Bay area, I'd go there instead of either Key West or St. Augustine. It's much closer to Port Charlotte and IMO has lots of more to do.

Like AAFrequentFlyer says, Key West is a party town and St. Augustine is historic. I prefer St. Augustine- easy to spend a couple days there. We usually stay at the Holiday Inn outside town. Castillo de San Marcos, dinner at The Columbia, and walking around town and musts for us. We normally drive down from VA, stay at St. Augustine a night or two, and go to Miami for a couple days. We don't mind long drives, though. John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo is really cool if you go to Key West.

You can take the Fort Myers ferry to Key West. It is about 30 min from Port Charlotte. I would do Key West. You can visit Hemingway's house, The Truman White House, Fort Zachary state park, Mel fisher has a museum and the food and ambiance can't be beat.

http://www.seakeywestexpress.com/

St Augsutine is ok, nice right now with the lights all on and if there is something going on with an event but you can see it all in one day. I just spent two days there last week. We went to see a friend play at a festival. I would do Key West between the two if I had to pick. The vibe of Key West is great and if you take the ferry you don't even need a car. It is all walkable.

The problem with the ferry is that if the waters are too rough, it will not run so it's not 100% reliable. Also, the drive from Key Largo to Key West, with stops at Pennekamp State Park and Bihia Honda: http://bahiahondapark.com/ is beautiful!

Key West! I agree with cd - the drive from Key Largo to Key West is beautiful. I would go snorkeling at the Pennekamp State Park.

Then just check on the day and if the sailing is smooth you save gas money, stress and can drink going and coming home. The ride is pretty but just get me there. The traffic lights have been holding us up for hours of late. We have been taking side streets just to avoid them getting through Key Largo.